Day 10 - Machu Picchu
Today was a major highlight, our trip to the most famous Inca Ruins, but
first we had to get there and it is long way even from the Sacred Valley.
It was also a big day in Peru as it was census day, and unless they had special
permission, all Peruvians had to stay at home, until the census people had
been. We had our permission-to-move permits and so did our driver
and guide, so they picked us up at 7am. The other slight concern for the
day was that the driver would be taking our luggage to Cusco while we were in
Machu Picchu; we hoped it all worked. When we reached Ollantaytambo, we
boarded the train for an hour plus journey down into the cloud forest on the
east side of the Andes, passing the start of the Inca trail, which looked
fairly steep. Our rail journey was very civilized as we were served
drinks and carrot cake airline style while admiring the view of the river
cutting its way down the gorge. When we reached Machu Picchu station, we
transferred to a bus for the journey up to the ruins. We were right at
the back and the road surface is far from flat so it was a bumpy ride round
endless hairpin bends for ½ hour to the top.
What we hadn't appreciated was that Machu Picchu is down at 2400m above sea level, much lower than Cusco and the Sacred Valley.
The gateway was getting crowded, but we made it through and Julio, our guide, decided we should do the upper circuit first. That took us to the classic view where we had our photo taken near the edge, much to Glynis's consternation. No picture can prepare you for the reality, the site is nowhere near flat as you might think and the height is astounding. The site was built in the 1400s, but unfinished when the Spanish arrived, though the Spanish were unaware of it. It was only a temporary home for nobles, not the home of the Inca himself. Julio said that as it was Sunday and census day we were lucky that the crowds were thin.
As we progressed round the site we saw the religious parts at the top and the more day to day buildings at the bottom.
When we left the site, we had a very nice buffet lunch at the restraint just outside the gate. Julio then managed to get us back in for a further hour exploring by ourselves. When we came out, the huge bus queue had reduced to nothing and this time we were at the front of the bus, which was much better. The train trip on the way back was a hoot. After serving a snack and drink again, the crew began their show. First a local devil in gaudy clothes first hissed at us, then got a few people up to dance. The other 2 crew members then put on a fashion show for us, before trying to sell the beautiful alpaca knitwear.
When we got off the train we found the minibus blocked in in the car park and when we finally got out, we had 1½ hours drive to Cisco. We arrived well after 8pm in the rain, but luckily our luggage was in our room.
What we hadn't appreciated was that Machu Picchu is down at 2400m above sea level, much lower than Cusco and the Sacred Valley.
The gateway was getting crowded, but we made it through and Julio, our guide, decided we should do the upper circuit first. That took us to the classic view where we had our photo taken near the edge, much to Glynis's consternation. No picture can prepare you for the reality, the site is nowhere near flat as you might think and the height is astounding. The site was built in the 1400s, but unfinished when the Spanish arrived, though the Spanish were unaware of it. It was only a temporary home for nobles, not the home of the Inca himself. Julio said that as it was Sunday and census day we were lucky that the crowds were thin.
As we progressed round the site we saw the religious parts at the top and the more day to day buildings at the bottom.
When we left the site, we had a very nice buffet lunch at the restraint just outside the gate. Julio then managed to get us back in for a further hour exploring by ourselves. When we came out, the huge bus queue had reduced to nothing and this time we were at the front of the bus, which was much better. The train trip on the way back was a hoot. After serving a snack and drink again, the crew began their show. First a local devil in gaudy clothes first hissed at us, then got a few people up to dance. The other 2 crew members then put on a fashion show for us, before trying to sell the beautiful alpaca knitwear.
When we got off the train we found the minibus blocked in in the car park and when we finally got out, we had 1½ hours drive to Cisco. We arrived well after 8pm in the rain, but luckily our luggage was in our room.
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